"Since the source of 90 percent of the pollution has not yet been located,
who can guarantee that ducks won't be contaminated again with dioxin?" said
Huang Huo-cheng, a representative of the farmers, speaking at a press conference
sponsored by non-partisan solidarity union legislator Chen Chin-ting.

The farmers were forced to stop raising ducks and destroy all their duck eggs
after high levels of dioxin were found in duck eggs in Changhua County's
Hsienhsi Township in December 2004. After a second contamination case was
reported in Shenkang Village last September, farmers there were banned from
raising ducks until further notice.

The restrictions were lifted at the end of June, when a subsidy the
government paid the duck farmers as an advance until compensation was paid by
the polluters was also halted.

Chen Chin-ting asked the government whether the contamination had been fully
eradicated in Hsienshi Township, whether it was safe to eat duck meat and eggs,
and if duck farmers were leading satisfactory lives.

Lin Chun-Lu, a senior specialist with the EPA's Department of Waste
Management, said in response that the agency had been working to track down the
other polluters.

"We had found at least five possible polluters, in addition to Taiwan Steel
Union, and referred them to the judicial authorities for investigation," Lin
said.